


Hero's doubts

by SilverWolf96



Series: Xenoblade October 2020 [1]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Advice, Gen, Questioning, Self-Doubt, Social Anxiety, Supportive friend, Talking, Understanding, social pressure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26753581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverWolf96/pseuds/SilverWolf96
Summary: Xenotober 2020 Day 1.Shulk is uncertain about what he’s supposed to behave like when people see him as a hero.
Series: Xenoblade October 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948564
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15
Collections: Xenotober 2020





	Hero's doubts

**Author's Note:**

> Xenotober 2020 Day 1. Hero  
> Enjoy!

### Day 1. Hero’s doubts

Shulk feels people’s eyes on him when walking through the Colony. Watching him. Judging his every move, action and word. He finds himself keeping his head down and evading people’s eyes, slinking away before they have a chance to say anything or even get a good look at him. He can feel the stares weighing on him, like they’re physically pressing down on him, pushing him to the ground.

As someone who’s never been especially good with people, the experience is downright terrifying. He knows the people see him as some kind of hero, someone strong and brave who protected them from certain death in the claws of the Mechon. The new Hero of the Homs. The True Wielder of the Monado. People he’s never met recognize him on sight, walk up to him to talk, ask for autographs, ask him for advice, and one person even asked to marry him! 

Did Dunban have to deal with people like this when he was the Hero? He’s still very respected amongst people, so maybe he still has to deal with this? Shulk has no idea how the man handles it all so well, considering the experience is enough to make him consider wearing a mask in public, like Melia. He might get some weird looks, but at least he’d be left alone, right?

He soon notices he’s been making his way to Outlook Park, as he’s been so lost in thought he hasn’t really been paying attention to his surroundings. This seems to just be the place he goes when he needs to get outside, to find some peace and quiet. He sits on a nearby bench and looks out over the Colony. The whole situation feels so surreal. 

What is a hero supposed to be like? What do people expect if him? What should he do?

He is so caught up in his own thoughts once again, he doesn’t hear or notice the footsteps behind him until they’re right there and another person settles on the bench next to him. He jumps when suddenly notices Dunban sitting there, calmly observing him.

“Sorry,” the man apologises, quickly realizing he must have startled Shulk. “I didn’t mean to startle you. You looked quite lost in thought, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“It’s alright,” Shulk reassures him, shaking his head. “I did zone out for a bit there.” 

“Something on your mind?” Dunban gently prods, as if Shulk’s problems are written across his face, just waiting for someone to notice them.

“Kind of. Yes.” Shulk wonders if bringing up his issues to Dunban is a good idea or not, but eventually decides to just go for it. If nothing else, he might get some advice on how to handle it. 

“The thing is,” he starts carefully, trying to figure out how to best voice his feelings in a way that doesn’t sound childish or stupid. “It’s just that... People are treating me completely different from before. They treat me like I’m some kind of hero or something.”

“Well, you are a hero,” Dunban, unhelpfully, points out. 

“But I never wanted to be a hero!” Shulk protests. “I just wanted to, to beat that Metal Faced Mechon! I just wanted to be a normal person!” Talking about it actually does help, he finds. “Now people keep staring at me and they expect all kinds of things from me and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or how to act around them anymore!” Once he gets everything out he just hangs his head down, hoping he didn’t sound too whiny or something. He briefly wonders if Dunban even understands how this is for him, considering the man always has been better with people than Shulk. 

“You shouldn’t try to act like anything,” Dunban finally says after a few moments of silence, causing Shulk to whip his head up and to the side fast enough to almost cause him whiplash. “Like you said, you weren’t trying to be a hero, or anything like that. You were just being you. And that’s who you should keep being. Even though people grow and change constantly, you should never try to change who you are in order to be something you believe other people thing you should be like. Do you understand?”

“I...” Shulk takes his time processing what he was just told. There’s definitely some truth to it, and as usual, Dunban has given him a lot to think about. “I believe so,” he finally says, smiling at the older man. “I still have some thinking to do, but I believe I got the general point.”

Heroes come in all kinds of personalities. But he shouldn’t try to change himself to try to become someone else’s idea of one. Maybe, he can do just fine as a hero just by being himself. Maybe he doesn’t need to be a hero anymore, now that everyone’s safe. And if people don’t like that, then that’s their problem.

**Author's Note:**

> Shulk, at least at the beginning of the game, is somewhat shy, socially awkward and introverted. Made me wonder how he would feel about and handle being what’s basically a celebrity. Then I came up with this.


End file.
